Wales online casinos

Published May 31, 2018

Wales is part of the United Kingdom so its gambling laws are enforced by the UK Gambling Commission. This includes both land-based casinos and online counterparts in the UK. Great Britain has very liberal laws in regards to gambling in comparison to many other countries, so lets take a look at what’s available for the Welsh.

Gambling online in Wales

Yes, it is perfectly legal is a quick way of answering this. As with all countries of the United Kingdom, the market is very much a liberal place, meaning that online casinos, bookies, bingo sites, poker rooms and more are all accepted and very popular.

Any gambling site that is available to UK players should by rights hold a licence from the UK Gambling Commission to ensure that the regulatory body’s standards are adhered to properly. This is something that extends to both land-based casinos and online casinos, so the Gambling Commission is the main body that overlooks all gambling activity in Wales.

Gambling itself has been popular throughout the UK for many, many years – Wales included. Placing bets on sports events or casino games is a favourite pastime of many people in the country. And regardless of whether they’re doing this online or offline, it’s a very free activity to participate in.

In actual fact, the UK is one of the most forward-thinking nations as far as gambling laws are concerned. By this, we mean that platforms existing outside of the United Kingdom are also available for players from Wales and other UK countries to join. As long as they acquire a gambling licence from the Gambling Commission, then they can freely operate within the UK and residents have free will to join and play.

The UK market as a whole is a very big one, so many offshore platforms try to involve themselves in the country’s gambling industry. This means great things for Welsh players, because they’re really not restricted in any huge way from where they can play. Or, in the same vein, what they can gamble on. So, regardless of if you’re a sports bettor, a poker player or a slots gambler, Wales (under the laws of the UK) provides free access to all kinds of gaming sites.

Online casino bonuses in the UK

Bonuses are no longer as generous as they once were in the UK because of a recent clampdown by the UKGC on incentives. At first glance this might seem like a downer for players, but the reality is it has forced casino operators to be much more transparent with their bonuses.

Now instead of advertising huge bonuses with fine print hidden away, UK casinos are being transparent, and either not having wagering requirements on bonus offers, or are forced to display the terms and conditions very clearly. UK casinos are dropping bonus offers daily with these including extra spin offers, sign up bonuses, reload bonuses and many more.

GBP online casino deposits in Wales

Being a part of Great Britain, Wales utilises the British Pound Sterling as its national currency. And because the United Kingdom has access to many online casinos, the vast majority of them will also provide the possibility of depositing and playing in this currency.

This goes for local casinos as well as those based offshore. It’s such a well-known and used currency that online casinos frequently provide options for it. When it comes to depositing in British Pounds Sterling, there are many payment methods that can be put to use to do so. Therefore, both depositing and withdrawing should be relatively easy and fairly swift too. They include options like the following:

Land-based gambling in Wales

As far as gambling on the whole goes in Wales, it very much falls in line with the status of the UK gambling scene. Therefore, you can expect to find that both land-based and online casinos are very much a part of the country. In fact, the country does play host to several brick-and-mortar establishments within, most of which are located in the south of Wales. Therefore, both residents and visitors can go to these establishments and satisfy their own gaming needs. When you combine this fact with the possibility of also playing at online casinos, Welsh citizens are able to move about freely, so to speak, when it comes to gambling.

This rule isn’t only relative to casinos either. In fact, players have the chance to place wagers at online and offline sportsbooks, play the UK’s National Lottery, participate in poker games, enjoy bingo at both online and offline locations, and much more. Of course, Wales, much like the rest of the UK, has also gone through varying periods of time when gambling was illegal. However, today, it remains as a very legal and popular pastime to participate in for many people.

Online casino & gambling laws in Wales

As spoken of before, it is legal for players in Wales to participate in both online and offline gambling, casino gaming included. As long as players follow a couple of rules set out by the Gambling Commission of the United Kingdom.

First of all, you need to be at least 18 years old to place legal bets. And secondly, you need to play at online casinos that hold an official gambling licence from the Commission. In actuality, legal gambling on the whole in the UK only became an entity in the 1960s. Prior to this time, the country didn’t have much as far as regulations and framework go for this sector.

It was only in 2005 that a large list of restrictions and rules to be abided by were brought into law, ensuring that the industry was regulated and with the idea of making it much safer. While there weren’t any restrictions as far as legal gambling was concerned, the laws basically protected minors and vulnerable players from the threats of gambling and remain in place to this day. The laws extend to the online gambling world, where any form of gambling is open to Welsh (and on the whole, UK) players.

Wales Geography

Wales is a country that makes up a part of the United Kingdom, which consists of three other countries in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It sits on the west side of England, which forms its only land border. The Irish Sea is to its north and west of it, while the Bristol Channel lies to its south.